VOICEOVER (VO): It's the nation's favorite antiques experts!

Yes, a good weight.

(SNIFFS) And it smells.

- (HORN HONKS) - VO: Oop, steady!

Behind the wheel of a classic car.

Good morning, my lady.

Good morning, Parker.

And a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

- Whoopsie!

- Come on!

The aim, to make the biggest profit at auction.

- (GASPS) - But it's no mean feat.

- (LAUGHS) - There'll be worthy winners... - (CHEERS) - ..and valiant losers.

(SOBS) Will it be the high road to glory...

It's about winning.

- ..or the low road to disaster?

- Whoa!

Pothole!

This is the Antiques Road Trip!

Yeah.

JAMES: So I'm sort of nice and cuddly warm, I've got something over my knees.

- It's like taking Granddad out.

- It is.

- Day trip.

- Day trip.

Come on.

- When can we stop?

- (LAUGHS) Have I remembered my teeth?

VO: Ha-ha!

Yes, old man Braxton is back on the road accompanied by fellow auctioneer Izzie Balmer, looking the picture of youth.

I think of myself as a '90s child.

A '90s child.

Well, I think of MYSELF as a '90s child.

- (SHE CHUCKLES) - 1890s.

VO: Anyway, Brackers is older than their fine set of vintage wheels, the 1978 MGB.

JAMES: Er, Izzie, this isn't just an MG.

It's an MGB.

What does the B stand for?

Braxton and Balmer!

(LAUGHS) I like that.

MG Braxton Balmer.

Or Balmer Braxton.

Or Balmer Braxton.

Balmer Braxton, Braxton Balmer.

What do you reckon has the better ring to it?

Er, Balmer... Ba... Bark...

Balm... Balmer.

- (LAUGHS) - Barking.

Barking... VO: I thought he had his teeth in.

Braxton...

I don't know.

One of the two.

Izzie and James are meandering the B roads of England's eastern counties, skirting the coast before retreating inland and turning north to their final auction in Lincoln, with the last of their treasures.

There's a lot of value in old jewelry now, isn't there?

Oh, definitely.

Especially like the Go...

The Gorgian?

The Georgian!

- Georgian, love.

Yeah.

- The Georgian, yes... Georgian jewelry.

Cos there's just not that much of it about.

Obviously keeping up with trends, you know, studs for the belly button.

All that sort of thing.

You've got studs for the belly button?

You've got... Well, you know, if you've got a two-karat diamond, where you gonna put it?

VO: I'd rather not say, old boy.

It was peaks and troughs for Izzie last time.

And she starts out today with £183.42 in her piggy.

James, meanwhile, struck it lucky and nipped ahead with £343.56 at his disposal this time.

Well done.

So it's to the east of the country, isn't it?

- Yes.

- Next stop what?

- Oh, Scandinavia.

- (SHE CHUCKLES) - Your...

Your favorite place.

- Yeah.

- Suppliers of Scandi spoons.

- Yes, that make me profits.

Make you profits.

Remind me, was that your only profit?

Oh, James!

(THEY CHUCKLE) How could you?

VO: Bad granddad!

This time our expert pair are touring the eastern English counties, and Izzie has ceded the car to James and has been dropped off at her first stop of the day.

Looking ahead to auction in Beccles, she's off to the Lincolnshire village of Weston, near Spalding, hoping for more than a meeting with Long John Silver and a parrot, at... Three Pieces of Eight - ha-ha!

Packed to the gunwales with all manner of things.

Time for Izzie to get galvanized!

LAUGHING: I always think of my brother when...

He has this thing...

I'm just giggling at the ridiculousness of it.

He has this thing where anything that is remotely hat-like, he likes to put on his head.

And I've just seen this.

And this is all gonna go on my hair, so I'll tip it out first.

But... what an... (VO CHUCKLES) Youngsters, eh?

The mature antiques hunter would never be seen gallivanting in a silly hat like that.

Oh.

Sorry I spoke!

Mr Braxton is traveling east and south through the Fenlands now, to the Cambridgeshire market town of Wisbech - home of Thomas Clarkson, who devoted his life to the abolition of slavery.

Time for James to park himself at his first shop of the day, Granny's Cupboard.

Hello.

James.

Oh, hello.

Nice to meet you.

- Good to meet you.

- I'm Richard.

Richard.

Now, this is a lovely old game, isn't it?

It is indeed.

This is solitaire.

Solitaire because you played it on your tod, or...?

That's why, yes.

How much is something like that, Richard?

With the marbles, 25.

- 25, I see.

- Yeah.

That is a beautiful object.

So it's mahogany and then we've got all these different colored marbles.

That's lovely.

But this is...

I see... Have you laid out these fascinating items for me, - Richard, then?

- I may have.

(LAUGHS) What...

So that's a stable block, isn't it?

It is, yes.

Yeah.

And then the intriguing thing is we've got here "1837 to '97".

Yep.

The diamond jubilee.

- Of Queen... - Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria.

That is...

I'm sure she'd be chuffed to know she was on a stable block floor.

(JAMES CHUCKLES) And how much is something like that?

That's fascinating.

Oh, not too much.

It'd be a tenner to you.

Tenner.

Isn't that... a fabulous object?

If you're gonna buy something commemorative, why not buy a humble item rather than yet another beaker, - or yet another tankard?

- Yes.

That's a good start.

I'm intrigued by these two items.

And I love things like this.

Yeah, that's a lovely mirror, isn't it?

- Isn't that a great mirror?

- Yeah.

If you're gonna buy a mirror, why not buy a really good mirror?

Yes.

Yeah.

And it's a very unusual mounted one with a mount through the middle of it.

Through the mi... And incorporated within the design.

- Yeah.

- And then it's cut on the back - and then silvered.

- Silvered, yeah.

So you get this sort of fasted pattern.

- Yeah.

- Isn't that fabulous?

It's a beautiful mirror.

VO: It is.

But carry on looking while we find out how things are progressing back in Weston.

Do not put that on your head, girl.

I've spotted some chairs.

These ones are really lovely.

I think they're in oak.

And these are really beautiful.

It's a pair of 19th-century chairs.

And they've got this cross design, which...

Some people often refer to them as sort of ecclesiastical in their design.

So you've got this almost trefoil design here, and then it's mirrored at the top here.

So that's really lovely to see that symmetry.

She's weakening.

Call Iain.

- Hiya.

- Hi.

So, um, my problem is... - I like chairs.

- Mm-hm.

But I'm going to a silver jewelry and fine art auction.

- Right, OK. - Which is kind of small... little, pretty, sparkly things.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So not really the stuff they're looking for then, is it?

- No.

- Right.

Have you got anything like that?

We've got a few things in the shop, yeah.

You're welcome to come and have a look.

Yes.

Show me.

Take me there.

Great.

- Let's go.

- Thank you.

I've got... a nut with silver mounts.

VO: I think we might be getting somewhere.

It's nice that it's got, like, the silver... the silver top and bottom there, and that it's mirrored in the design.

I'm just a bit baffled as to what you'd use it for.

It probably could've just been like a stand - for a desk or something.

- Like a pen pot?

- A pen or something like that.

- Yeah.

It wouldn't have been made for liquid, I wouldn't think, - cos the inside's not lined.

- No.

No, exactly.

And they haven't actually really properly hollowed out - the interior, have they?

- No, that's right.

So it's probably just a decorative item.

I'm presuming that this is the maker's name that's a little bit rubbed, that I can't really...

It's like a Stagnaro, or Stack... VO: Er, stamped with the mark of a self-taught South American silversmith, Gustavo Stagnaro, who's been silversmithing in a Creole or native style near Buenos Aires since the 1970s.

Where did this come from, Dave?

- I picked it up in Canada.

- In Canada.

£40.

Erm... if it was of interest to you, I could do 25.

But that is the bottom.

That could be of interest to me.

(LAUGHS) - Could be of interest to ME!

- I thought...

I thought I was gonna have to do some haggling.

I might buy it off him for 25.

- (LAUGHS) - Erm...

When I bought it, the exchange rate was extremely favorable.

How unusual.

So Dave, you've made a very kind offer of £25 on this.

And I am... Wow!

I am losing at this stage of the game.

So I'm gonna take a risk on it.

Erm, yes please.

- Thank you very much.

- No problem.

VO: Well, she looks right chuffed with that.

Now, back at Granny's Closet - oh, Cupboard - is James still pondering that commemorative brick and the fancy mirror?

How much is something like that?

Has a price on it.

- 78.

- Ooh.

Yes, it's...

But it's in...

It's in...

It's a beauty.

I could obviously do a deal.

Could you?

What sort of deals are we looking at?

- 65.

- 65.

Yeah.

It's a stunning mirror.

D'you know, years ago, I bought a brick.

- Did you?

- I...

I quite like bricks.

I'm sure you can get help for that.

(JAMES LAUGHS) Could you be squeezed a bit more on that, Richard?

What about 50?

Are you interested in the brick as well?

I'm definitely... Well, I'm... 60 for the two of them.

60 for the two of them?

Yeah, I'll do that.

- Thank you very much indeed.

- OK, you're welcome.

VO: Nifty 50 for the mirror then, and 10 for the brick, and he's off.

Well, that was easy.

And quick.

Meanwhile, Izzie's 45 minutes away, heading for the Cambridgeshire cathedral city of Peterborough, where she's bound for the local ice rink.

Her mission here is to learn more about the world's second-most-popularly- participated winter sport which emerged from the frozen waterways of the Fens - bandy.

Lyn Gibb-de Swarte is head of the GB Bandy Federation.

Oh!

I don't know how to slow down.

Whoa, yeah.

(LAUGHS) Well done.

- Like that.

- Well done.

VO: Played across the globe from Colombia to Japan, traditional bandy, played in teams of 11 on a football-sized pitch, owes more to field hockey and soccer than to its contemporary, ice hockey.

The indoor version is six-a-side rink bandy.

IZZIE: How did bandy originate?

During the winters up on the Fens was a time, really, of hardship.

But also of sort of ameliorating that hardship by physical activities that were pleasurable.

That's really how the sport started.

People liked sort of team games and football and things like that in the summer, kicking a ball around and so on.

But of course you couldn't do that once... Once the land was frozen.

VO: From the 18th century, a form of bandy is thought to have been played in Wales and in Russia, as well as in England.

I can see some props here, Lyn.

Well, yes, that's one way of, um... (THEY CHUCKLE) I don't know what... Well, they could prop you up, I suppose, if you were in difficulties.

Erm, but yes.

This is a bandy stick or club.

And you'll see that it's flat, it's curved.

And some people say that the name "bandy" for the game is from the Old English "to bandy about".

You know, to bandy back and forth.

But the other Old English is curved, as in bandy legs.

Oh yeah.

And this is a bandy stick, and it has to be curved.

IZZIE: In ice hockey, you have a puck.

But this is a ball.

- It is.

- And it's pink.

It is.

Isn't that lovely?

(IZZIE LAUGHS) This ball actually runs really quickly over the ice.

So you have to be fast to catch it.

Originally there were no rules, and clubs agreed before games how they'd play.

But Charles Goodman Tebbutt, a Cambridgeshire speed skater and bandy player, thought there was a better way.

He decided that really what was... What was best for everybody was if they could sort of codify the rules.

These are some original rules here that they've sorted out between themselves, basically.

And look, that's his name there.

Yes.

It's amazing, isn't it?

Is it fair to say that this book, which is - the Bury Fen Bandy Club... - Yeah.

..of which CG Tebbutt was a member... LYN: He was the captain of the club, as well.

IZZIE: This is like the precursor of the national rules that are now played today?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And, er, those rules that were set back in 1891 are still the same rules that bandy is played to today, by all the different countries.

Now, Russia claims that they are the originators of bandy.

But they... they play...

The Russians play to British rules.

OK?

So tell that to President Putin!

VO: If I see him, I will!

Ha!

In the UK, bandy is mostly played indoors these days.

Time for Bambi to take a shot!

There she goes.

Takes a bit of practice.

- I am so glad you are here.

- (THEY CHUCKLE) Right, so starting here?

- Yep.

Start like that.

- Yeah.

And you're just gonna swing and strike the ball.

VO: Whack it!

(SHE CHUCKLES) Well, that was painful.

But she's game, isn't she?

Let's go.

VO: D'you know, I think it's best.

14 miles north-west is where we'll catch up with James now, en route for beautiful Stamford, setting for many a period drama.

And no wonder.

Our Mr Darcy - or do I mean Mr Bennett?

- is driving his phaeton into town and taking his calling card to St Martin's Antiques Centre.

How sweet.

Hello.

James.

Hello, it's Lucinda.

Hello.

We've met before.

We have.

Lovely to see you again.

Boy, it looks absolutely chocker again, doesn't it?

It is.

We've got a few new dealers.

Lots of new stock.

Fabulous.

I'll rootle around, if I may.

- You do that.

- Thank you.

Let me know if you need any help.

VO: Don't worry, Lucinda, he's an expert rootler.

Oh, that's a bit jumbly for me.

Bit too beady.

Aha!

Here we are.

Looks good.

Erm, Lucinda.

Got a pair of cufflinks here.

We've got some studs, as well, so...

Which are quite fun.

It says silver on them.

Mother-of-pearl.

They're quite pretty in a way, aren't they?

They're a full set.

And these could've been - the shirt studs here.

- Shirt studs.

Two shirt studs showing, and then the waistcoat.

What sort of price could that be?

Could that be 50?

What about 55?

Yeah.

I'll do 55.

OK, OK.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you.

Put...

Put those behind the counter.

VO: A dashing first purchase, Mr Darcy.

Ah!

Now, here's what the Scots call a quaich.

And it was something that you would take whisky from.

But the thing of interest for me is on the base - we've got a George III cartwheel.

This is a coin.

This was a coin developed and manufactured by the very famous Matthew Boulton, at the Soho Manufactory in Birmingham.

And he's so famous, he is commemorated on a £50 note.

So our highest pound note.

There he is, there's the man.

Mr Matthew Boulton, there we are, with James Watt, the Scotsman.

Founders of the Industrial Revolution.

And there's the Soho Manufactory.

And this coin here would've been made there.

So a real link with the past.

£58, it's just too much for me.

I'm in it to win it, and I don't want to go squandering my money.

And that's how the rich stay rich!

Now, that's a chair.

That's a chair that has lived.

It looks like we've got this very lovely timber here, the ash tree.

And it's great for bending.

You can steam it.

Got this lovely stick back here.

It's always nice when you've got something curved.

It's slightly more comfortable.

If you're a straight back, you know, your body's curved.

Look at me, I'm curved.

The funny thing is, Izzie's done quite well with chairs.

And it's sort of got me thinking maybe I should get in on the party, really.

65.

I'm gonna go in with 45.

Let's see if I get it for 50.

Lucinda.

Here we are, I've found another item.

This remarkable chair.

Could we do...?

What are you looking at?

45.

What does it say actually on the ticket?

Oh, you don't wanna look at that.

Well, I won't know what's written... You don't wanna look at that.

Well, not that way round, anyway.

60... How about 50, meet in the middle?

50, there we are!

That sounds like a good number, doesn't it, this week?

- Textbook.

- Fantastic.

VO: Granddad's as sharp as a tack!

A total of £105 for the chair and the cufflinks.

Time to cough up.

Thank you very much indeed.

Really kind, Lucinda.

- Lovely seeing you again.

- Thank you very much indeed.

- I'm off.

- Good luck.

VO: And with Izzie back in the driving seat, James is free to limber up for the evening with a bit of dad dancing.

It's all in the...

I've got a good rock on here.

(SHE CHUCKLES) It's very good for toning, Izzie.

So much toning can be done in the car.

I think I'll just focus on driving.

You focus on driving.

I'm...

I'm going to focus on toning my buttocks.

(SHE CHUCKLES) VO: Enough!

Enough.

Nighty-night.

Another day dawns, and it's a pea-souper.

IZZIE: Where are we?

- We... We are... - I know I should know - cos I'm driving.

- We are in Cambridgeshire.

You're not to know - it's another lane, isn't it, to you?

- Yes.

- Just another lane.

You're my navigator, telling me where to go.

Well, we're in Cambridgeshire.

And we're near Huntingdon.

- Huntingdon?

- Yeah.

- Now, that name rings a bell.

- Does it?

The Earl of Sandwich.

- Ah!

The sandwich.

- The sandwich.

You know, sandwiches are the... That's the erosion of society.

Sandwiches are fab.

Do you have a favorite sandwich?

Erm... (LAUGHS) - Well... - What is your favorite filling?

Oh... fish-finger sandwich.

Fish... Ooh, that's very trendy.

- Fish-finger sandwich.

- Very trendy.

Erm, jam and peanut butter.

Jam and... Urgh, that sounds revolting!

No, it's delicious.

VO: Never serve that to our resident food critic!

I like Italian prosciutto more.

Oh, that's very posh, James!

Here am I with my fish-finger butty.

Yeah, or I do like an avocado and bacon.

Oh my goodness, we're getting posher.

Yeah.

Well, you can keep your cheese and pickle.

VO: Snob!

James made a rather odd purchase of a brick yesterday...

I...

I quite like bricks.

I'm sure you can get help for that.

(JAMES CHUCKLES) ..and also fancied a fine mirror, a set of cufflinks and a chair, but still has a healthy budget of £178.56 left.

Thank you very much indeed.

- OK. You're welcome.

- Thank you.

Izzie parted with a modest amount for a silver mounted gourd.

How unusual.

Mm.

So, she sets out today with £158.42 left to spend.

And her South American find has fired up the pedagogue in James.

You know, South America was very famous for its huge silver deposits.

And the Spanish - that's how the Spanish got really wealthy.

And they produced this coin, which was an eight-real coin, which became known as pieces of eight.

Pieces of eight.

You will never guess what, James.

- What?

- The shop I bought this from was called the 3 Pieces of Eight.

- No?!

- Yes!

Oh, look at that virtuous circle!

VO: Time to own up, though.

So I bought a... a chair.

What?!

(LAUGHS) Ha...

Hang on.

Chairs are my thing!

I know.

I just wanted to muscle in.

You are a good student.

I am a good student.

I aim to please.

- (SHE CHUCKLES) - Yes, miss!

VO: Class dismissed - ha!

Time for Izzie to leave her pupil and carry on to her first session of the day in St Ives near Huntingdon, birthplace of republican and roundhead Oliver Cromwell.

Izzie's first shop continues the revolutionary theme with the name Hyperion, a Titan god of heavenly light who overthrew his father.

This emporium of earthly delights has been in business since 1960 and its antiques goddess today is Maria.

35 dealers sell their wares here and it looks like Izzie means business.

It's a German silver dress clip.

I'm particularly drawn to this feathered design, and the fluidity of it.

It's such a simple design, and then you've got this gorgeous cabochon.

I think it's possibly amazonite.

I mean, this is really, really lovely.

I mean, normally with dress clips you'd have a pair of them... - Mm.

- ..because they can then alter the shape of the neckline of what you're wearing.

But with something like this, you could just clip it to a lapel, a bit like your own jacket.

You could clip it to a lapel of your jacket, or to a scarf or something.

So... £18 on that one.

Can I put that to one side, please?

- Yes.

- Thank you very much.

VO: Course you can.

She's really got her eye on silver this time, hasn't she?

Maria, I've discovered this really rather nice paper knife.

Um, it's white metal.

I can't see any hallmarks on there.

And I like it because it's got this golfing finial or terminal or handle, even, at the top here.

Erm, it's marked at £28.

I don't think it's got any huge age, it's 20th century.

Do you think there is any wiggle room on this?

Well, she's got 28.

- 26?

- (INHALES SHARPLY) Any chance we could call the dealer?

- Yes.

- Oh, that'd be super.

Thank you very much.

It's a letter knife - it's a good, usable item.

It's only £28 so it's not gonna eat into my budget too much.

That being said, I would like to try and get some money off it.

VO: Over to Maria.

I've spoken to the dealer and she said 22.

22.

Practically a bargain, isn't it?

- It is.

- Yes please!

- Thank you very much.

- Thank you very much.

VO: Right, 22 for the paper knife and 18 for the brooch is £40.

So, that's a total of £40.

Innit?

That's a nice even number - I can just give you two 20s.

How easy is that?

VO: Easy.

Lovely.

Excellent.

Buckle up and be off with you.

We'll catch up with our man now.

He's headed 20 miles south-west to the Bedfordshire town of Sandy, on a gastronomical trip to discover more about a local delicacy, which harks back to this rural county's agricultural past.

On hand to tell him more is bakery owner David Gunns, lending a hand feeding the animals at a local farm while he waits for James.

- I see you're hard at work.

- Yeah.

This all has to be done, doesn't it?

There's only so many hours to get it all done.

Is Bedfordshire famous for its farming?

Extremely famous.

I mean... - Extremely.

- ..not so much nowadays, - but going back years.

- You're not biased, - are you, David?

- Oh no, not at all.

Not at all.

And legions of workers on farms before the tractor?

Yes.

It's become very mechanized, hasn't it?

Like anything over the last years.

But you know, yeah, back in the day there was an enormous amount of people doing huge numbers of hours, yeah.

VO: Being outside in the fields from early in the morning, farm laborers would have been exhausted and ready for their midday meal.

DAVID: They've got to put back what they're working off, - haven't they?

- Yeah.

It's not like they'd be going to McDonald's and all things like that, is it?

It's a totally different lifestyle.

No, quite.

In centuries past, the packed lunch of the rural workers toiling in all weathers for meager wages might have been the kind of pasty which David specializes in making today.

Well, James, this is the answer to the problem of the farmers and how they'd keep going all through the day, of course.

- So this is the calories.

- This is the calories, yes.

(JAMES LAUGHS) They're called - wait for this - Bedforshire clangers.

Clangers.

Why clanger?

Well, why indeed?

What do you think of with the word clanger?

I think of dropping a clanger.

- As in a mistake?

- A mistake.

Yeah, well, that's one theory.

Because the big thing about these is they're sweet and savory in the same pastry parcel.

VO: Originally made with suet and boiled, not baked, clung dumplings are recorded in a 19th-century dictionary.

"Clungy" and "clangy" meaning heavy.

The origins of this dumpling-turned-pasty are obscure.

So like a Cornish pasty but this is...

This is mains and pudding?

Absolutely.

Complete meal in one.

The original fast food, I call it.

This is apple on the sweet side - here, yeah.

- Yeah.

Which goes really nicely with the pork.

But this is the lovely thing about all our regional differences - you know, everybody's heard about a Cornish pasty, but I've never heard of a Bedfordshire clanger.

It looks delicious.

May I try one?

I think you certainly may.

I think you have to, don't you, James?

Help yourself.

- So this is...?

- Savory side is nearest you.

VO: Not our gourmand's normal lunch!

JAMES: Very nice, isn't it?

Will you teach me how to make a clanger?

I'd be delighted, James, yes.

We'll go and do that.

Fabulous.

VO: Who knows why the Cornish pasty flourished while the clanger vanished and has only been resurrected in recent decades?

But David's on a mission to restore it to its former glory.

- Don't think about it, James.

- Yeah, that's right, yes.

That's the... That's the problem.

Everybody thinks about things too much, don't they?

We try and put as much as we possibly can in cos, you know, everybody wants a well-filled clanger, don't they?

Yeah, they do.

There's my apple now.

So you're just about a spoonful in there?

Yeah.

Nice spoonful.

It's a fine balance.

- Oh!

Cr... - Oh dear.

Clanger in the making there.

Absolutely.

So, shall I... - Yeah.

Show me.

- ..just take one?

Just gonna bring it over, and then I'm going to... Any escapes, push in.

And just press down gently.

Cos I don't want a big ridge of pastry at each end.

No.

This is...

This is where it all... - Yes.

- All goes horribly wrong.

Oh, I'm sure not.

That's good.

That's good.

I need to catch up with you now.

Come on, David.

Look lively.

(DAVID LAUGHS) VO: Oh hush!

His clangers will be perfect.

Now we're gonna put them in the oven and bake them.

Alright?

VO: And 40 minutes later, voila!

The fruits of their labors.

These are your ones.

And obviously, my one's risen enormously, hasn't it?

(DAVID CHUCKLES) I...

I think it's... You've clanged really well.

- And I think... - Thank you.

There's the proof of the pudding.

It's absolutely the taste of Bedfordshire.

- That's the thing.

- It is.

Every time I cross the border, it'll be a clanger for me.

No better recommendation than that then.

Wonderful.

No, thank you, it was great fun.

- Nice of you to come along.

- Really good fun.

VO: While James enjoys his second clanger of the day - ha-ha!

- Izzie is speeding on towards the day's final destination and considering her next moves.

Sometimes, actually, I just think that I want a little James in my pocket that I can get out, and just ask his advice on things.

A little miniature James would be very handy The Pocket Braxton.

Get your pocket Braxton here!

Ha-ha!

Onwards, then, to that ancient Fenland seat of learning, Cambridge.

In this city of perspiring dreams - ha-ha!

- both our experts will be hoping for glittering prizes at their shops, which are right next door to each other.

But Izzie's here before James and headed for the Cambridge Antiques Centre, which has been trading since 1989 and looks full of promising things.

I think I might have spotted something.

It's a miniature chair!

It is silver.

Got a full set of hallmarks.

And it's this sort of lovely cherub decoration.

It's repousse, so it's... That's when you push the silver out.

It's decoration kind of from within, pushing the silver out.

Whereas with engraving, you're carving the decoration into it.

It's not going to make me a huge amount of money.

It's priced at £28.

There's probably not really a profit in that.

But just for the very fact that I've got a theme of chairs, I'm so tempted to get this.

I might have to see if a little cheeky deal can be done on this to tempt me.

Time to call in cheeky Sheila.

I've spotted this chair.

And this one's priced at £28.

Do you think there could be anything that we could do on that?

Well, normally, it would just be 25.

OK.

But I can phone the owner.

Oh, that'd be brilliant.

Um, before you go, I have also spotted this caddy spoon.

It's priced at £49.

So basically what I'm wondering is, what's the best on the chair... - Yeah.

- ..but if I were to get both... Yeah.

..can we do something even better?

Course, I can only ask.

I'll go and phone the dealer.

Thank you very much.

So, just noticed this Georgian silver tea caddy spoon.

And I quite like tea caddy spoons.

And what you look for...

The most collectable ones are the Georgian ones.

And of course in silver.

It's £49.

I probably want to be looking at £30 for this one.

In your dreams then, because the combined ticket price is £77.

So let's see if Sheila can bring glad tidings of great joy.

- Right.

I phoned the dealer.

- OK.

If you buy them both together... - Mm-hm?

- 50.

- For the pair?

- For the pair.

And if I were to buy just the chair or just the caddy... 20 for that, and 40 for the spoon.

Hmm.

VO: While she's humming and hawing, James has arrived at Hive Antiques through the wall.

And it looks brim full of possibilities.

What a lovely day.

Anyway, I've been here many moons ago.

And it looks as though you still have the same lovely stock.

Not... Not exactly the same, I should add.

But of similar vein.

Now, can I browse around?

Have a look round.

And if there's anything you see you want to know anything more about, just come and ask me.

VO: That's right, Brenda, you keep an eye on him!

Oh, look.

Here's Izzie hotfooting it through from next door.

Maybe she fancies a sniff of old carpet too!

James, what are you doing?

Don't worry, they're clean.

They're clean.

You smell the... smells of souks and Marrakesh and donkeys and mopeds.

Yeah, those are all good fun.

The color...

The color of ancient lands.

So, I have two...

I have a bit of a silly novelty one.

I found this miniature silver chair.

- Yeah.

- Which amuses me.

Yeah, yeah.

Silver Georgian caddy spoon, I think I'm going to buy.

- Yeah.

- They are from the same dealer so I could have the two for £50.

Yeah.

That sounds good - silver sale.

- Exactly.

- Age.

- Yes.

- We like age.

- Good condition.

- Yeah, I... As Herod, I would say, "Buy that," yeah.

There you are... Come... Come to Herod.

Come to Herod.

- Anyway, good luck with it.

- Thank you!

(SHE CHUCKLES) I think James has just made my decision for me.

This is absolutely brilliant.

I was feeling so nervous and anxious and in turmoil.

And I just feel calm and serene and I know exactly what I'm going to do.

VO: Maybe thinking about mini James in your pocket while you strike a deal helps.

Do you know what I've just realized?

If these don't make me the money I need them to make me, I can blame James cos he's told me to get these two!

So, um, yes, I better go and settle up.

VO: 30 for the caddy spoon and 20 for the miniature chair.

Now, has James caught a whiff of something other than donkeys and souks?

I've got some cash that I need to get rid of.

And as an inn keeper, I'm naturally drawn to tankards.

These are known in the trade as jugs, cos they have a handle.

I can see... (BLOWS) ..it's got silver hallmarks on it.

And it's in that precarious time when the sovereign took a little tax for silver.

So it's got the sovereign head's tax that was repealed.

Er...

I've forgotten when it was repealed.

VO: 1890.

1781 or something like that.

VO: No, 30th of April 1890.

No, it was repealed... some... Repealed in the early 19th century, I think.

VO: Look, it's called the duty mark, and it's 1890.

I found this rather nice tankard.

It's got a good weight to it.

It's a sweet little vessel.

It has 130 on it, Brenda.

What can you do on that?

The very best price is a straight hundred.

Straight hundred.

Brenda, I will give you 100.

- Thank you very much indeed.

- Thank you very much.

VO: That's James's pockets £100 lighter.

And they're off.

Next stop?

Saleroom.

I've been to Beccles many times.

It's a lovely, lovely town.

Auction day, the day of judgment.

Now, Izzie, will you be walking the plank?

Or will you be... Or will you be hoisted to the crow's nest in great victory?

I'm hoping the latter.

VO: Batten down the hatches, then, clamber into the bunk and get some shuteye.

Good morning, Beccles... ..once a flourishing Anglian river port on the River Waveney, which flows betwixt the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Today it's pleasure craft which ply the 17 square miles of waterways which make up the Broads National Park.

And the sight of all that leisurely cruising certainly floats my boat.

Anyway, I'm excited.

Dreams are made in Beccles.

- Did you know that?

- Of course I know this.

VO: And our palace of dreams this time is Durrants, established here in 1853.

Izzie parted with £115 on five lots...

This is what we should all be doing.

Ditching the bag!

This is the loose-leaf spoon, the lovely caddy spoon.

This is IB, the maker's name of IB.

Now, I's are very often J's.

So it's got my initials as well.

It's something really I should've bought.

That seems like an absolute bargain.

I see profit!

..while James splurged a whopping £265 on his five lots.

James has bought a gorgeous, gorgeous chair.

It's in that Sheraton style.

It's sort of 1820s, nice bit of good Georgian furniture.

It's like the chair I bought except...

I hate to say this but it's so much nicer!

Bit of mutual envy going on there!

What's the dispassionate opinion of our auctioneer today, Nick Rudge?

Silver miniature chair - it's a lovely little item.

It's a cheap little item.

It'll make £20 or £30 cos it's a novelty.

My favorite item today is the George III silver tankard.

It's a small little item, it's well carved, it's perfectly formed and there's no damage to it.

It's...

I think it'll make... very well.

It's my personal favorite.

VO: Proceedings are now under way, so time to squeeze into a seat.

Oh, it's a full room.

It's a packed saleroom!

That's good!

Will James lay a good foundation now with the first lot, his diamond jubilee stable brick?

Tenner!

£10 bid.

12.

Sterling.

15, 18.

20.

£20, £20, second row bid.

At £20, second row bid where?

22.

£22, 25.

Second row, then, I'm gonna sell.

Make no mistake at £25.

- (GAVEL) - Thank you.

Oh, you old brick.

(THEY CHUCKLE) - That's really good.

- A diamond brick.

VO: God bless the Queen!

It's alright, isn't it?

Yes.

It was fun.

And I thought, it's great... You know, how often...

I'll never see another one again.

Cos most of them will be face down, won't they?

VO: Next up, will Izzie's novelty golf paper knife cut it with the bidders?

10!

Bid, £10 bid.

12, sir?

- 10, OK. - 12.

- 12.

- 15, 18, 20, 22.

- In pro...

In profit.

- 25.

30, 35, 40, 45.

£45 seated at the back.

- £45 - give that man... - Going!

Give that man a kiss.

..at £45.

- (GAVEL) - Thank you.

I don't think he wants one.

That's very good.

£45?

£45 - you're making money.

VO: She is.

Go, Izzie!

This is clearly what I need to do, James.

I need to buy small and cheap, like you do.

Yeah.

Excuse me!

(SHE CHUCKLES) VO: James's not-so-cheap mirror is under the hammer now.

30.

- 20.

- Oh dear.

No, but... £20, £20, £20, £20...

It'll get there.

Two, 22, 25.

25, 28.

- 30, £30.

35.

- 30.

- So creeping up.

- 40.

- 45.

50, £50.

- We're nearly there.

55, £55.

60, £60.

Third row, then, at £60.

- (GAVEL) - £60.

- Profit!

- A little one, it's true.

I've probably paid a bit too much for it.

VO: Will Izzie's miniature silver chair produce a miniature profit next?

I'm bid £20 straight in surely.

- Straight in.

- No.

£20 surely.

No?

10 then!

- Oh!

- Bid.

£10, £10, 12.

£12 online.

15, 15.

You're out online.

18.

18.

£18.

£18, 20 anywhere now?

At £18.

What was I thinking?

£20, £20, 22.

22, fresh bidder.

£22.

£22, standing bid.

Last chance.

You're out online as well.

At £22.

- (GAVEL) - Slam it down.

OK, I mean that's not too horrendous.

That tiny sum will disappear in saleroom costs, I'm afraid.

It's because it's not a solid chair.

I need to stick with proper chairs.

I think you need to stick to wood.

To wood.

I do.

Well, let's see how James's 1820s ash elbow chair fares.

Circa 1780.

BOTH: 1780!

VO: 1780.

£50, £50, £50, five.

£55.

60.

It's worth more than this.

- 75.

- Are you in profit?

80.

£80.

See, that's proving your theory about chairs.

Yes.

It's a good-looking chair.

£85.

Last chance, you sure?

Online... - 90, thought you might.

- 90.

- £90.

- This is fantastic!

Online, and in the room, 95 online.

You sure?

- Fill it up if you like.

- 95!

Go for the 100, sir.

Go on.

At £95... - (GAVEL) - Oh, what a great result!

That's not bad, is it?

That is superb!

You have given me the gift of the chair.

VO: Or you stole it from her!

He-he!

Anyway, almost double the money there.

I mean... that's got a good age to it.

It's... - It has a good age.

- Yes.

Izzie's had bad luck with brooches before.

Can her amazonite silver clip make her money?

£10 bid.

£10, £10.

12 online.

- 12 online.

- I paid 18.

15.

£15.

£15, £15, seated at the back.

- I need more.

- Gonna go then.

- Oh!

- Last chance at £15.

(GAVEL) I did warn you about brooches, didn't I?

Oh dear.

Is her luck on the turn?

Don't worry - just put it behind you.

- OK. - Don't dwell on losses.

Concentrate on profit.

Will the power of positive thinking serve up a profit on James's expensive Georgian silver tankard, up next?

Start me at £60, 60.

Go on.

60.

Come on.

£50 someone, then, surely?

£50 bid.

I mean, we know it's got to make 50.

£50, 55.

£55.

60, £60.

At 65, £65.

70.

- You're out online.

75.

- 70.

It's creeping up, it's getting there.

£80, £80, 80... 85.

- It could do it.

- 90.

£95 online, the bid.

At £95... - Oh dear.

- £100, back again.

- £100.

OK. - Ooh!

- We've got that.

- I was...

I was wincing.

- I missed that bit.

- 110.

Bid's online, I'm gonna sell online at £110.

- (GAVEL) - Thank you.

Oh!

- Just scraped through there.

- Scraped through.

VO: Spending big isn't paying off for James this time, is it?

I felt pressure from you to spend.

- You cannot keep blaming me!

- (LAUGHS) You are in charge of your own destiny, James.

VO: You tell him, girl.

Next up, it's Izzie's South American silver-mounted gourd.

£30 bid.

£30, £30.

Look at that, in profit.

35, £35.

40.

£40.

- 45.

- That's good.

In profit!

James, I just realized.

Well in... Well in profit.

£45.

£45 standing at the back.

50 online.

- (GASPS) - £50, 55.

£55.

You're out online.

Standing at the back, away, then, at £55.

- (GAVEL) - Oh, I love that chap.

- Well done, well done.

- 50... Oh!

VO: This is looking good, Izzie.

Izzie's back.

- (LAUGHS) - Izzie's back.

I'm gonna need it.

You're miles ahead of me.

Rubbish!

VO: It's the turn of James's last lot now, the Edwardian dress set.

£25 bid.

28, and I'm out.

- 28.

- At 28.

Could be 28.

So we have bids on commission.

- Oh dear.

This could be... - £28... - (GAVEL) - Thank you.

And you pushed me into those cufflinks, Izzie.

What?

I did not.

You said, "Go and buy some cufflinks.

"They're very popular."

I didn't say, "Pay too much for them."

That's the last time I'm gonna listen to you.

VO: Oh, stop bleating!

Don't start selling me cufflinks.

VO: Give it up, man.

The last item is up now - Izzie's Georgian silver caddy spoon.

I've got three commission bids.

- Three commission bids.

- £40, 45 and 50.

- See.

- That's amazing.

At 55 online, and I'm out.

Bid's online at £55.

55.

£55 online, at £55.

Anyone else want to join in?

- 60 in the cafe.

- 60.

£60, 65.

This is so exciting!

- £70.

- I love making a profit.

In the cafe now, you're out online, make no mistake.

Gonna sell at £70.

- (GAVEL) - £70!

Izzie, I have to hand it to you.

Very good.

- Thank you.

- Well done.

Well done.

VO: Well, that was more gracious.

Double her money and a bit extra.

Excellent.

Well, thank you for the advice.

Come to Herod.

VO: Time for a tally up.

James spent big this time but had small profits, and that big loss on the dress set has left him, after auction costs, about £60 down on last time.

He now has £339.32, while Izzie made canny purchases and a couple of fine profits.

After saleroom fees her piggy has swelled by £54, giving her £238.16.

So, she takes first prize and proves that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

JAMES: Woah-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho.

Ho-ho-ho.

James, are you feeling nervous?

I think the worm has turned.

This could...

The worm?

I'm not a worm!

No, of course you're not.

Well done.

- Very good.

- Thank you.

Well, I'm gonna hand this leg fair and squarely to you.

- Thank you very much.

- You're in the money!

Yes!

VO: To the ends of the Earth on the next Antiques Road Trip.

(LAUGHS) Most easterly person!

(WHISTLES) James whistles for it... - And 50 pence, really?

- And 50 pence.

..Izzie smells a profit.

Ooh!

..and a cannonball brings out the doctor in James.

I am a Time Lord.

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